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 Band/Musician: Destino Album: Forte Label: Shoreline Records By Adrian Lee Let’s start with a confession: I’m only 19. So I don’t yet relate to those who feel aches in their bodies in the morning as they gear up for another commute to work. It’ll be a while yet before I rant spitefully against the universal thorn that are “kids these days,” and the closest I’ve felt to being old is when I’m questioned about paying the student fare on the subway. But I can’t deny that the huge financial success of the “popera” genre, so named for its driving orchestration and its catchy pop character. It’s a genre that has made raving fan-girls out of otherwise docile housewives, has made Josh Groban a double-platinum artist with just his debut album, and has even lured the once-bright boyband pop of B-44 into the fold. And it’s in this tradition that the Vancouver-based trio Destino has decided to try their hand. However, in a genre that seems to have already reached its creative crest, Destino does nothing special to separate them from the pack that its pioneering forefathers – Groban and Il Divo – had not already accomplished. Instead of pushing the envelope, Destino’s debut album, Forte, leaves the envelope exactly where it was – in a genre that would prefer not to send mail at all. That’s not to say these three Vancouver natives – Leon Leontaridis, Joey Niceforo and Paul Ouellette – aren’t talented young men. Their cover of Marc Anthony’s “My Baby You” (tingeing the song with hints of their Canadian home by singing a verse in French) is actually something of an improvement over the original. Their voices are strong without being overpowering, lustrous vibratos that aren’t sleep-inducing. Forgive my limited knowledge of famous opera singers when I say it’s as if three younger Andrea Bocellis are singing atop orchestration that (while boisterous) doesn’t take away from the undeniable stars of the show. But while they excel in Italian (showing their opera backgrounds), what detracts from them is when they veer too strongly towards the pop, or when they sing in English. The English lyrics come across as vapid and forced, and although this is perhaps more of a commentary on my own ignorance, knowing what they’re talking about takes away from the feeling that you are sipping from a chalice meant for those more elite. It’s the same principle behind watching an opera: Take in the splendour of the costumes and the exquisiteness of the singing; but read the brusque English translation of the lyrics, and you’ll learn the scene playing out in front of you involves a drunk talking about beating his wife, reducing it to the level of a popcorn flick, albeit one of great flourish. Ultimately, it’s this greater feeling of plasticity that makes this album difficult to listen to. It’s chock-full of carefully meted-out swoops of inspiration and a sense of over-production. The feeling you get from hearing a live opera is sucked away by the artifice of the sound. And while the trio’s singing is strong, it is in a genre that unfortunately demands excellent singing as an at-minimum standard. Popera is relatively new and its sound has yet to be as defined by the demographic that has quickly become its fan base. As such, what it needs are musicians interested in molding Popera in their own image. Instead, however, Destino's debut plays like a splash of Merlot dulled with Diet Coke. |